At the onset of USA’s Dig panel at Comic-Con, the creators and pilot director behind the action miniseries tubthumped extensively how their project is an anomaly in so far that it’s a show set in Jerusalem, shot in Jerusalem. “Shooting there is paramount to the story in capturing the vividness and emphasizing the characters of the show,” said Dig pilot director S.J. Clarkson. (Watch the trailer below.)

Emphasizing their point, the creators went so far as to show a behind-the-scenes clip of the cast and crew wowing about how riveting it is to shoot in Jerusalem. Then, when asked by Deadline about the production’s status, particularly as it relocates to Albuquerque, New Mexico in the wake of turmoil in Gaza, executive producer Gideon Raff explained, “We shot everything we need for the pilot and now we are relocating to Albuquerque but also scouting locations internationally that will be our new Jerusalem. We are committed not to give up based on what happened.”

EP Tim Kring added, “There’s a great history in Hollywood of covering one location for another. We were able to shoot a lot in Jerusalem which will get reused and also it set the visual template, so we know how to tie into those visuals in some other part of the world. It’s amazing what you can do with set extensions and CG, but for all the interiors and certain desert scenes, New Mexico will cover brilliantly for that.”

Dig follows an FBI agent’s (Jason Isaacs) investigation into an American woman’s murder in Jerusalem, thus unearthing a global conspiracy 2,000 years in the making. Raff mentioned that the idea for Dig came about through a conversation with the head of Keshet Broadcasting (a producer on the show) who mentioned that there has never been a Jerusalem-set series centered around archeology. “It’s a world of drama that hasn’t been tapped before and I knew to get it started, we needed a murder,” said Raff. DIG will premiere in the fall on USA.